INTERCONTINENTAL CUP

1999

Also known as the World Club or Toyota Cup, the Inter-Continental Cup was the brainchild of Henri Delauney, the former general secretary of UEFA. His suggestion, that the champions of two continents should compete for one global trophy, also inspired the creation of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s answer to the European Cup.

Between 1960 and 1980 all finals were played over two legs. Strangely up until 1968 points, not aggregate score, was the decisive factor and if the points were level, a third match was required. The first winners of the competition were Real Madrid; AC Milan, Penarol and Nacional have since won the competition a record three times each.

Manchester United’s first appearance in the competition was in 1968 when they lost a brutal tie against Estudiantes de La Plata of Argentina. The South Americans won 1-0 at home and held United to a 1-1 draw in Manchester. In 1969 the first two-legged final based on aggregate scores was played.

The competition came close to being disbanded in the 1970’s when a number of European clubs, such as Ajax, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, complained at the over aggressive play of the South Americans. The competition has also survived such things as pitched battles, corruption claims and rule bending.

In 1980 Japanese sponsors Toyota came to the rescue with its proposal of a one-off match to be played annually in Tokyo, in the hope of generating interest for football in Japan. Since then the competition has grown in popularity.

United's second appearance and first success in the final came in November 1999 after winning their second European Cup.

Brazilian side Palmeiras were the Reds' opponents in Tokyo, where a single first-half goal from skipper Roy Keane and outstanding performances from Ryan Giggs and goalkeeper Mark Bosnich were enough to see United crowned world champions for the first time.

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EUROPEAN CUP WINNER

1991

Sir Alex Ferguson guided United to success in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1990/91 – thirty years after the competition was inaugurated by UEFA. It was the Reds’ first triumph in the Cup but Sir Alex’s second, having previously won it with Aberdeen in 1983, courtesy of a shock 2-1 win over Real Madrid.

United made their debut in the competition in 1963/64, having fulfilled the entry criteria in 1963 – winning their senior domestic cup, aka the FA Cup. Sir Matt Busby’s team made light work of Willem II, beating the Dutch side 7-2 on aggregate, and toppled Tottenham 4-3 over two legs in an all-English affair before suffering a 6-4 aggregate defeat to Sporting Lisbon.

The Reds had to wait until 1977 for their next FA Cup victory and subsequent crack at the Cup Winners’ Cup. Dave Sexton’s side beat St Etienne 2-0 at Plymouth Argyle’s ground – UEFA had ordered United to play their ‘home’ leg at least 200 kilometres from Manchester, following crowd trouble at the 1-1 draw in France.

After Plymouth, the Reds travelled to Portugal where they suffered another heavy away defeat, 0-4 to FC Porto. A valiant effort to turn things round at Old Trafford ended in vain – United won 5-2 on the night  but lost 6-5 on aggregate.

Ron Atkinson won two FA Cups as United manager but was given only one chance to win the Cup Winners’ Cup – all English clubs were banned from European competitions in 1985, in the wake of the Heysel Stadium disaster.

In 1983/84, Big Ron led the Reds through a rollercoaster campaign: an away goals victory over Dukla Prague, a more straightforward 4-1 aggregate win against Spartak Varna and then an epic quarter-final against Barcelona. Diego Maradona and all came to Manchester leading 2-0 from the first leg but Bryan Robson (2) and Frank Stapleton sent them packing on an unforgettable evening at OT. The semi-final was a bridge too far, however – missing the injured Robson, the Reds were held 1-1 at home before losing 2-1 in Turin against Juventus.

Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge when United played their first European match after the ban was lifted, in 1990. The Reds beat Pecsi Munkas 2-0 in Manchester and 1-0 in Hungary, to set-up an all-British tie against Welsh Cup winners Wrexham. Again the Reds kept two clean sheets, beating the Robins 3-0 at home and 2-0 away. United conceded their first goal of the competition against Montpellier, but still won 3-1 on aggregate before beating Legia Warsaw 4-2 over both legs of the semi-finals

Hughes was the hero in the 1991 final in Rotterdam, scoring two goals in the 68th and 75th minutes against his former club Barcelona. Ronald Koeman clawed one back for Barca but to no avail as United won the Cup Winners’ Cup at their fourth attempt. It was also their final attempt – the subsequent FA Cup triumphs, in 1994, 1996 and 1999, were topped by league titles and therefore the club qualified for and entered the Champions League instead - before UEFA abolished the competition in 1999.

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UEFA SUPER CUP

1991

The European Super Cup was the brainchild of reporter Anton Witkamp. After a period of supreme Dutch dominance (either Ajax or Feyenoord had won the European Cup final for the last four years), Witkamp had the idea of pitting the winner of the 1972 European Cup against the winner of the same year's Cup Winners' Cup.

The first Super Cup was played between Ajax and Rangers in January 1973 but was not endorsed by UEFA because the Scottish team were serving a one-year European ban at the time. It was an enormously popular concept with fans – more than 100,000 turned out across two legs – and Ajax ran out eventual winners, 6-3 on aggregate.

UEFA could see Witkamp was onto a winner and adopted the competition in an official capacity the following season, where Ajax again triumphed. This time, the Dutch champions thrashed AC Milan 6-1. The Italian team have since fared much better and have won the trophy a record four times.

Manchester United's first taste of the competition came in 1991 when, after the Reds' victory over Barcelona in the Cup Winners' Cup, they faced European champions Red Star Belgrade. Due to Yugoslavia's unstable political climate, it was decided the 1991 Super Sup would be settled over one leg. A Brian McClair strike was enough to hand United a 1-0 win and hand Sir Alex his third trophy.

United's only other appearance in the Super Cup was earned after the Reds' last-gasp Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich in 1999. They met Lazio – by this stage all finals were held over one leg and in Monaco's Stade Loud II stadium – but went down thanks to a 35th-minute goal from Marcelo Salas.

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FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP

2008

United became the first British club to win the FIFA Club World Cup when the Reds beat LDU Quito in Yokohama, Japan on 21 December 2008. Wayne Rooney scored the

The 1-0 win over LDU Quito in the final was the second of two matches United played in the tournament - Sir Alex Ferguson's men also won a semi-final a few days earlier against Gamba Osaka, beating the Japanese side 5-3 with goals from Rooney (2), Nemanja Vidic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher.

In all, the following seven teams took part in the 2008 Club World Cup - representing either the host nation or one of world football's six confederations:

Gamba Osaka (Japan, host nation); Waitakere United (New Zealand, OFC), Adelaide United (Australia, AFC), Pachuca (Mexico, CONCACAF), LDU Quito (Ecuador, CONMEBOL), Al Ahly (Egypt, CAF), Manchester United (England, UEFA).

December 2008 in Japan was United's second participation in the tournament. The Reds previously entered in 1999/2000, when the competition was inaugurated under the title of FIFA Club World Championship.

The inaugural tournament took place in January 2000 and featured eight teams - representatives from the six football confederations, plus the 1998 winners of the Inter-Continental Cup (inspiration for FIFA's competition) and the champions of the host nation, Brazil:

Manchester United (England, UEFA), Rayos del Necaxa (Mexico, CONCACAF), Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia, AFC), South Melbourne (Australia, OFC), Vasco da Gama (Brazil, CONMEBOL), Raja Casablanca (Morocco, CAF), Real Madrid (Inter-Continental Cup winners 1998), Corinthians (Brazil, host nation).

The format was two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi-finals. United failed to reach the semis, after drawing with Necaxa 1-1, losing to Vasco da Gama 3-1 and beating South Melbourne 2-0, all in the famous Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

The inaugural winners of the FIFA Club World Championship were Corinthians, who beat their great Brazilian rivals Vasco da Gama 4-3 on penalties in the final.

United's record: entrants 2000, winners 2008.

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EUROPEAN CUP / UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

• 1968, 1999, 2008

The Champions League is the ultimate club prize in European football. United have won the trophy three times, in 1968, 1999 and 2008. Real Madrid have the record number of wins, with nine European Cups to their name.

United first played in the European Cup in 1956. The decision did not go down well with the Football League due to the fear that it would affect the quality of domestic competitions. This was quickly quashed as the competition helped raise standards in the English game.

United’s first match in the competition was a 10-0 win against Belgian Champions Anderlecht. The Reds reached the semi-finals in both 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons, but the club’s involvement in the 1957-58 competition, however, will be forever linked to the Munich air disaster. United’s draw in Belgrade and subsequent semi-final defeat against AC Milan were overshadowed by the tragic death of eight United players.

From tragedy came hope as Sir Matt Busby built a new team. Another semi-final in 1965-66 was followed by the club’s first European Cup success in 1967-68 when Goals from Bobby Charlton (two), George Best and Brian Kidd at Wembley gave England its first European Cup winning side against Benfica.

The club had to wait a long 26 years to compete in the competition again, now expanded and renamed the Champions League. United have played in the Champions League every year since 1994 and reached the semi-finals in 1997 before winning the Cup for a second time in 1999.

The final in Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium looked all but lost as United trailed 1-0 going into the three minutes of added time at the end of the match. Goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left Bayern devastated and United's 50,000-strong throng of supporters in ecstacy. Sir Alex Ferguson had finally emulated the achievement of his predecessor Sir Matt Busby.

European glory proved elusive for United in the following seasons. Their defence of the trophy in 1999/00 was ended by a 3-2 home defeat by eventual winners Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, while two semi-final appearances (2001/02 against Bayer Leverkusen and 2006/07 against AC Milan) ultimately ended in elimination despite United holding the lead in both ties.

In May 2008, in Moscow, the Reds sealed their third European Cup triumph - 50 years after the Munich air disaster and 40 years since the Reds' first win in '68 - with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea. Ryan Giggs, making his 759th appearance in a red shirt, thus breaking Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time record, scored what turned out to be United's winning penalty. Edwin van der Sar confirmed United as Kings of Europe with his subsequent penalty save from Nicolas Anelka and sealed a historic double for the Reds.

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